Hacking gets Kawasaki nod for Laguna.

Kawasaki has announced that Jamie Hacking will make his MotoGP debut at the US Grand Prix, replacing the injured John Hopkins.

Hacking was one of three AMA riders being touted as taking the place of Hopkins at Laguna Seca, but with the American currently occupying fourth in the AMA Superbike standings, it was enough to give him the nod over fellow Kawasaki riders Chaz Davies and Roger Lee Hayden.

A former AMA Supersport and Superstock champion, British-born Hacking has been racing in the United States since 1994, but is currently enjoying his best Superbike season this year with six podiums currently to his name.

Interestingly, the 37-year-old comes to Laguna Seca having stunned the Kawasaki team by breaking the Autopolis lap record in Japan following just two days of testing.

Naturally, Hacking is thrilled about the chance to graduate to MotoGP machinery for the first time in race conditions, while he is also determined to come away from his home round with a top ten finish to match Hayden's effort from last year.

"I'm really excited about riding Kawasaki's Ninja ZX-RR in the USGP at Laguna Seca," he said. "We've just completed two days of testing with the bike in Japan, and I felt pretty comfortable straight away.

"It's an amazing machine. I can't believe how sophisticated the electronics package is on the bike; already it feels like you can open the gas impossibly early out of the turns, but the data shows that it's actually possible to open the throttle even earlier. To do this requires some confidence in the electronics, and that confidence will only come with more track time on the bike.

"Roger Lee set the benchmark at this race last year with an outstanding tenth place finish, so that's certainly given me something to aim for. Laguna is one of my best tracks, but I'm under no illusions how hard it's going to be.

"I'll be up against some of the best riders in the world on a bike on which I've only had limited testing time. If I come away from the weekend with a top ten finish, then I'll be happy."

Kawasaki competition manager Michael Bartholemy, meanwhile, claims Hacking was the obvious choice for the team given his pace in AMA. Even so, having witnessed his performance at Autopolis too, Bartholemy is curious to see what Hacking can do at Laguna Seca, a circuit he knows very well.

"Given his results in this year's AMA Superbike championship, Jamie was the obvious choice for Kawasaki when the factory started looking for a temporary replacement for John Hopkins. We are looking forward to seeing what he can do on our bike at Laguna Seca, especially after he broke the lap record at Kawasaki's Autopolis circuit in Japan during two days of testing on the Ninja ZX-RR this week.

"One big advantage that Jamie has is that he knows the track extremely well, and I think that will count in his favour, as it will allow him to focus completely on the bike during the race weekend.

"Roger Lee set a hard target last year by finishing as the first American across the line in tenth place, but I'm sure that Jamie is heading to the USGP determined to do even better! I'm sure that he will do a good job for us at Laguna."